Leah's Choice
by Uma Yearly
Summary: It’s been almost two weeks since Renesmee Cullen was born, and everyone is living their happily ever after. Everyone except Leah Clearwater, that is. But with the help of Seth and Embry, she learns how to be happy again. CallWater. AU.
1. To Move On

**Leah's Choice**

_Summary_: It's been almost two weeks since Renesmee Cullen was born, and everyone is living their happily ever after. Everyone except Leah Clearwater, that is. But with the help of Seth and Embry, she learns how to be happy again. CallWater. AU.

_Disclaimer_: Any characters, situations, etc from the _Twilight_ saga belong to Stephanie Meyer. Not mine, so don't sue!

* * *

Chapter 1: To Move On

It has been almost two weeks since Renesmee Cullen was born and became the imprint of Jacob Black. This imprinting forced Sam Uley, the other alpha, to accept a truce with the Cullens and draft a new treaty. Because of this new peace, Sam had allowed Embry Call and Quil Ateara to join their best friend's pack.

Everything was peaceful and wonderful for all, except for Leah Clearwater. Once again, she felt like she had been betrayed by a man through imprinting. Unlike with Sam, however, there was nothing romantic in Leah's and Jacob's relationship. But Jacob was the only person who had truly understood Leah's pain. But his pain disappeared the moment he imprinted. And Leah was once again alone, drowning in the self-pity induced from being an un-imprintable genetic dead end.

She didn't stay down, however. Help came in the form of two other pack members—Embry and her younger brother Seth. They pulled her up before she completely suffocated in despair. With Jacob and Quil always fixated on their respective imprints, she found herself spending most of her time with Seth and Embry. Over time, they have become her best friends and the people she could always count on.

With their constant support, she had begun to feel happy again. And with their incessant pleading, she had begun to accept the Cullens as friends and even family. In fact, Rosalie had become her best female friend once they realized they shared the same pain of being unable to bear a child. She had even allowed Alice to make her over—something that was painful and embarrassing and was so worth it when she saw how awesome she looked in the end. She would often help Bella and Esme in the kitchen as they cooked for the pack. Bella had become like a sister to her (which thrilled her mother since Sue and Charlie had started to become involved romantically), and Esme had become like a second mother (which didn't thrill Sue at all). On some nights, the last thing Nessie would hear before falling asleep was Leah's voice singing the lullaby her father used to sing to her as a child. And with the guys—well, she suddenly found herself a little sister to three vampire brothers who loved to tease her, yet were extremely protective of her.

Furthermore, she slowly began to fall for Embry Call. With his reassuring smiles, comforting arms, and caring words; how could she not fall for him? But she did not act on her feelings. Somehow, she just knew that the pain she'll feel _when_ Embry imprints (not _if_, because she was certain he _will_) would break her even more than the pain she felt when Sam imprinted on her second-cousin, Emily Young.

Seth, being quite perceptive when it came to his sister, already suspected her feelings for Embry and had taken it upon himself to play matchmaker. Unfortunately, that role ended quickly and disastrously. His first mission—telling Leah that Embry liked her back—didn't go as planned and even put an end to all subsequent plans. They were alone at home one morning about to have breakfast (Sue had already left for work), and he just blurted it out as she was about to cut into her pancakes. Silence enveloped the siblings for a few long seconds, and Seth was horrified when tears ran slowly down her cheeks. "I had suspected it," she said with an eerie calm. "But you forget: He's an un-imprinted werewolf. Even if he did love me, he can't. Because he'll meet _her_ someday." Seth didn't need to ask who this _her_ was. "One look, and he'll stop loving me. He'll break me, Seth. I think he knows that, too. I guess he really does love me since he's not willing to risk my heart." She then excused herself and left for her room. Later that day, Seth stood before Leah's door and quietly said an apology and a promise to never interfere again. And Leah and Embry continued to pretend that they were _just_ best friends, not wanting more and not wanting less.

But then Alice saw the Volturi coming for the Cullens. There was no way Leah and her pack brothers were going to let them fight the infamous Volturi alone. When Alice and Jasper disappeared, the dread she was initially feeling grew a thousand-fold.

With death seeming inevitable, Leah made the decision to confess to Embry. She wanted to tell him that night, but she had patrol with Seth. Despite trying to not think about it, Seth saw her longing to speak with Embry as soon as she shifted. After a bit of urging, Seth was able to convince Leah that he could handle patrol by himself for the night.

Leah ran as fast as she could towards La Push and didn't shift back to human until she reached the border, where she quickly put on her khaki Bermuda shorts and black camisole. And she continued running until she was in front of Embry's house. With inhuman grace, she jumped through the window of his room and landed without a sound. Looking towards his bed, she found him already awake, having sensed her since she entered La Push. (He had memorized the sounds of her footsteps—human and wolf—long ago.) "I…" She falters, not knowing how to voice out her feelings. But she didn't need to continue. "I know," he replied as he got out of his bed. She smiled shyly at him as he made his way towards her. He grabbed her hand, and then led her to his bed. She stayed there all night, and left with Embry when he made his way back towards the Cullen's to run his patrol with Quil just before sunrise.

They had decided to keep their relationship a secret from everyone else. They didn't want outside pressures and expectations to ruin what they had. And it wasn't hard to keep their secret with Jacob's and Quil's constant concern about their respective imprints. (Mention their imprints' names and they'd get so caught up in thinking about their imprints that they wouldn't be looking into Embry's and Leah's thoughts that deeply.) Also, Edward was too worried about his family and what his wife was up to that she was not telling him to focus on the secret lovers' thoughts. The other non-mind-reading Cullens didn't suspect anything. Outside the two of them, only Seth knew, and he was so happy for them that he went out of his way to make sure that they had as much time together as possible if these were their final days.

The night before the Volturi came, Seth offered to run his and Leah's nighttime patrol alone so she and Embry could be together on what could possibly be their last night alive. Leah and Embry made love under the stars that night. It was hot and desperate and urgent. They wanted to fill their need for one another in case the worst happened the next day. After a few hours, the desperation was abated and a great serenity overcame them as they held one another; Leah's head resting on Embry's chest.

"I love you, you know," she stated above the soft chirps of a lone cricket.

"I know….I love you, too. So much," was his reply. And they were quiet again. For a few minutes they just enjoyed the other's presence until Embry disturbed the silence. "I wish I'd imprint on you….I wish you'd imprint on me…." Leah lifted her head so her eyes met his. There was sadness in her eyes but an amused smirk formed from her lips.

"Maybe I should just mark you as mine," she said. He asked how. And she showed him by unlocking their gaze, slowly lowering her head to his shoulder, and biting him unexpectedly. She bit harder until she broke skin. The pain caused Embry to become aroused once again, and he lowered his head and bit her shoulder to mark her as his. He withdrew when she did, and they both watched as the bite marks they made on their lover's shoulder healed. But something was odd with the way it healed—a scar was left behind. Werewolves usually healed cleanly; no scars. They looked at each other in confusion. And when their eyes locked, their worlds realigned; the sole purpose of their being had dramatically been redefined. They had imprinted on one another.

_TBC_


	2. The Present

**Leah's Choice**

_Summary_: It's been almost two weeks since Renesmee Cullen was born, and everyone is living their happily ever after. Everyone except Leah Clearwater, that is. But with the help of Seth and Embry, she learns how to be happy again. CallWater. AU.

_Disclaimer_: Any characters, situations, etc from the _Twilight_ saga belong to Stephanie Meyer. Not mine, so don't sue!

* * *

Chapter 2: The Present

Fortunately for the Cullens and their supporters, both shape-shifter and vampire alike, the confrontation with the Volturi ended rather anticlimactic. Alice and Jasper had arrived moments before the big fight ensued. Along with them were the South American vampire Huilen and her nephew Nahuel, a half-human/half-vampire being. With their testimonies, Aro and the other leaders were convinced that Renesmee would not eventually expose the vampire world to the humans. The Volturi left more than a little disappointed that they could not legally (by the vampire laws) destroy the Cullens once and for all.

With the threat of the Volturi abated, the Cullen family and their friends could finally afford to relax. Jacob had given his pack members permission to return home to get some much needed rest. But instead of returning to their separate homes, Leah led Embry to her house. Catching the slightly horrified look on Seth's face when he saw where Embry was headed, Leah quickly assured her brother that she and Embry were too emotionally drained to do anything that would scar him for life.

The next day, Leah woke up from the most wonderful sleep she has ever had. She found the reason for it when she realized that Embry's warm body was flushed against hers from behind, his arms wrapped around her possessively.

"Morning," he greeted when he felt her stir.

"_Is_ it still morning?" she asked sleepily and tried to snuggle back closer to him (if it were even possible).

"Technically, _yes_," he replied smugly. "We have about ten minutes until noon so it's still morning." He paused to kiss her softly on her temple. "No one's home besides us. I think Seth must have covered for us or something since no one's tried to bother us. Not even your mom." Leah smiled at that. She really did love that kid.

"We so owe him a huge 'thank you' present for all he's done."

"I was just thinking that," said Embry. "Any ideas?"

"None. And I'm too lazy to think right now."

"Actually," he began hesitantly, "You're gonna to have to." His tone made Leah turn to face him, but she still didn't leave his embrace. At her questioning look, Embry explained, "We have to talk about how we're going to tell the others."

"The others?" Leah asked, still confused at where the conversation was heading. Serious conversations really should be held off until both parties were fully awake. "Talk about what exactly?"

"You know—_us_." The way he said 'us,' with so much reverence and love, made her smile. "With the Volturi gone, Jacob and Quil are back from zombie-land. They're bound to catch our thoughts when we're all phased. And Edward—he'll know as soon as we're close enough to the house. And when they know—

"Everyone will know," Leah finished. Then she groaned. He was right, of course. She'd known all along that they'd have to fess up sooner or later. She just wished it were later. Embry noticed the annoyance on her face and suddenly got tense. "You don't want to tell them," he stated coldly. But his façade cracked as hurt filled his next sentence, "A-are you ashamed that you imprinted on me?"

"No!" Leah exclaimed, suddenly feeling very much awake. She lifted herself up using her elbow and stared into his eyes. "No. I am not ashamed of imprinting on you, I have never been ashamed of loving you, and I will never regret choosing you." The honesty that Leah poured into her words and tried to convey with her eyes must have been noticed by Embry since he visibly relaxed.

"What's the problem then?" he asked in his usual relaxed tone, and laid back onto the pillows. Leah relaxed as well and placed her head on his chest, her ear above his heart. She listened to his heartbeat for a few seconds to calm herself down further.

"Nothing big," she replied. "It's just that I could already imagine the look of betrayal on Rose's face. I don't even want to try to imagine what lame jokes Emmett will be coming up with. And Alice! I just know she'll be annoying us about planning a wedding."

"Wedding?" Embry looked down at Leah and caught her eye. "And," he continued cautiously, "and what will you say when she asks about our wedding plans?" His breath went shallow as he waited for her answer. Leah could see the true meaning of his words in his eyes: _Will you marry me?_

"Well," she said with a radiant smile, "I'd tell her she could be in charge as long as she gets our input on things, of course." Embry's smile matched hers as he decoded her answer: _Yes, I will!_

"Of course," he replied. "And I just thought of the perfect present to give Seth—I'm gonna make him my Best Man."

* * *

Two hours later, Leah and Embry were eating lunch in the dinning room already showered and dressed. They had decided to head to the Cullens' and tell everyone their news after their meal. But before that, they had to find Seth and make sure he hadn't already gotten his mind read by Edward.

"Try his cell," Embry suggested before taking another bite of some left-over lasagna. Leah did, and got an answer on the second ring.

"Hello," said Seth's voice through the receiver.

"Hey, Seth. Are you driving? I could hear some noise in the background."

"Leah! I was just about to call you. Mom and I are driving through Forks right now."

"You're with Mom? In Forks?"

"Yup," he said, and Leah could imagine the smile on his face. "Since we've been so… _preoccupied_ during the holidays, we didn't get to do our annual Mother-Son outing around Christmas like we usually do. But this morning I thought, 'Why not today?' I mean, New Years is still part of the holiday season, right?" At those words, it occurred to her how Seth had gotten their mother to not barge into her room that morning.

"Seth, you are such a Momma's Boy," she good-naturedly teased.

"As if you didn't know that already!" he exclaimed in reply. In fact, everyone in La Push knew it. Being a Momma's Boy was actually something Seth was _not_ ashamed off. When they were little, Seth was teased a lot by the other kids about being one. Instead of denying it like any other little boy would, Seth would puff out his chest proudly and state that he did in fact "love his Mommy." The other kids eventually stopped teasing him about it since the words did not hurt him. (It may have also helped that his older sister threatened them with bodily harm if they didn't leave her little brother alone.) Ironically, his love and respect for his mother (and older sister) that caused the other little boys to tease him as a child made him quite sought after by his female classmates during his high school years. With his boyish good looks, kind heart, and respect for women; Seth could have asked any girl to be his. But then he phased, and wolf-business took priority over everything in his life. _Oh, well_. _At least you still have a chance at love with your one perfect match_, Leah thought. _That future imprint of yours is one lucky bit—_

"Leah, you still there?" Seth asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah. Sorry. Spaced out."

"Still sleepy, Lee? Don't tell me you just got out of bed."

"You could say that," she said, dropping her voice to make sure their mother didn't overhear. She heard a muffled gagging sound as a reply.

"Well," Seth said, "I guess I'll see you in a bit. I'm just going to drop Mom off at Charlie's."

"All right." A pause. "By the way, we're going to tell them later." Seth didn't need her to elaborate further.

"I figured as much. You want to meet at the Cullens' or—

"No. We'll wait for you here. We could all drive together since you've got the car. You think Quil and Jacob are already there?"

"Jacob, most definitely. But I think Quil is in La Push since Claire is visiting Emily today. Might want to give him a call."

"Okay." The siblings exchanged goodbyes and hung up their phones.

A short while later, Leah was driving her mother's old Toyota Corolla with Embry and Quil in the back and Seth riding shot gun. But just before they crossed the border and entered Cullen territory, Leah pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in 'park.' She turned to her passengers, mainly Seth and Embry.

"Any ideas on how we could keep Edward from hearing our thoughts before we let the cat out of the bag?" she asked.

"Don't you mean 'wolf'?" countered Seth, earning a light slap on his arm from his sister.

"First off, you know what I mean. Second, _so_ not the time." Sensing Leah's anxiety rising, Seth changed the subject.

"Why do we even _have_ to hide it from him?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Don't we want him to know?"

"Well, yes. But this is sort of like a surprise, right? And I want him to know the same time we tell the rest of the family." The Cullens and the members of Jacob's pack have come to consider themselves a part of one family. "With something like this, Edward might forget to keep his mouth shut and tell everyone before we get there. We just have to keep our thoughts to ourselves until we get to the same room as all of them. Then we just let our thoughts go and, well, tell them. I'm so glad Alice can't see our future. I don't think we can get around a fortune-teller."

"Uh, guys," interrupted a very confused Quil, and his three companions turned towards him. "I have _no_ idea what's going on."

"Don't worry about it Quil," Embry told him sincerely with a smile. "You will soon." It was obvious from the Ateara's face that those words caused him to worry even more. But opting to trust his friends, he remained quiet and tried to follow their conversation. Embry continue, speaking mainly to Leah and Seth. "To hide something from Ed, I think we just have to not think about it; just think about something else. It's not like he could delve into our thoughts freely like we do in our pack. He only hears what we actively think about. Since it's almost impossible to keep our minds blank, I think we should just distract our minds."

"Like mentally going through the Periodic Table of Elements? Or doing long division? Or doing the Times Table?" asked Leah in quick succession.

"Well, I was going so say, 'We could all sing our favorite songs in our heads.' But that works, too."

"Well, no offense, Lee, but I'm going with Embry on this," stated Seth. Leah rolled her eyes as she turned forward and started the car.

"Just so you know," Leah told her brother as she put the car in 'drive,' "I'm reminding Mom later to enroll you back into school."

* * *

While on the road, Embry had called Jacob and asked him to assemble the family. And when they neared the entrance leading to the Cullens' driveway, Leah, Embry and Seth started occupying their thoughts with anything other than their secret. Seth was mentally singing _The Song that Never Ends._ Embry was also mentally singing, but to the less annoying songs of Green Day, Beatles, and Aerosmith. And Leah…well, she _was_ an honor student before her world was turned upside-down: _…three times nine is twenty-seven, three times ten is thirty,… Hydrogen, one-S-one; Helium, one-S-two…_

When the four entered the house, it did not surprise Leah, Embry, Seth, and Quil when they saw their family members seated around Esme's antique dinning table waiting for them. The friends took the four remaining seats; Seth and Embry on either side of Leah, and Quil beside Embry. Seth and Embry both looked at Leah. When she nodded, all three stopped their mental singing or (in Leah's case) recital of the United States Preamble. Almost immediately, their thoughts were filled with Leah's and Embry's secret relationship.

Quite suddenly, a loud crash was heard from the other side of the room. When Leah turned to see what happened, she saw Edward on his feet staring pointedly and questioningly at her and Embry. Looking behind Edward, Leah noticed half of an antique wooden chair imbedded in the wall. The other half was shattered and strewn across the floor. Apparently, when Edward suddenly stood up, his chair went flying.

"Well," Embry's voice broke through the tense silence, causing everyone to divert their attention to him. "Since Eddie now knows, it's time for the rest of you to find out." He paused for dramatic affect. Then he looked around Leah. "Seth, wanna be my Best Man?"

_TBC_

_

* * *

_


	3. The Surprise

**Leah's Choice**

_Summary_: It's been almost two weeks since Renesmee Cullen was born, and everyone is living their happily ever after. Everyone except Leah Clearwater, that is. But with the help of Seth and Embry, she learns how to be happy again. CallWater. AU.

_Disclaimer_: Any characters, situations, etc from the _Twilight_ saga belong to Stephanie Meyer. Not mine, so don't sue!

* * *

Chapter 3: The Surprise

"_Well," Embry's voice broke through the tense silence, causing everyone to divert their attention to him. "Since Eddie now knows, it's time for the rest of you to find out." He paused for dramatic affect. Then he looked around Leah. "Seth, wanna be my Best Man?"_

"Really?!" Seth voice boomed excitedly through the quiet Dinning Room, causing everyone to wince (super-hearing did have its drawbacks). He pushed his chair back so he could see Embry more clearly. "You mean it? _Me?_ Not Jacob or Quil?"

"_You_, man," Embry promised with a nod.

"That's so awesome! Thanks!" He jumped out of his seat and gave Embry an enthusiastic man-hug, ignoring the bewildered stares watching them. "So you asked her to marry you already," Seth asked rhetorically when he released the hug.

"Well, not exactly in those words, but yeah," Embry replied happily. The two were acting as if their conversation was being held in private and not in front of an audience of confused and tightly-wound super-beings ready to pounce. Leah had to suppress a laugh at their antics.

"Wait," Alice called out suddenly. "_Best Man_? _Marry_? As in, there's going to be a _wedding_." At this point, everyone could see she was about to burst in excitement. But she held on long enough to ask, "But who are you getting married to?"

"To Leah, of course," he replied enthusiastically. And the mood suddenly grew significantly darker, successfully wiping the grins off of Embry's, Seth's, and Leah's faces.

"Jazz, wait!" Edward exclaimed. "It's not what you think. It's not what all of you are thinking," he said looking at each one of them (sans Embry, Seth, and Leah).

"Right now, it looks to me like _Call_ here," Emmett said angrily, practically spitting out Embry's last name, "has gotten my little sister to fall for him even though he's a wolf—a wolf that hasn't _imprinted_."

"That's how it looks to me, too," said Jacob darkly, glaring heatedly at Embry. "So if that isn't how it is, you better explain yourself. Quickly." Leah suddenly noticed the shivers going through Jacob's and Quil's bodies.

"What's the big deal, anyway," defended Seth. "They're in love. People in love should marry. Who cares if they're not imprinted? What if neither of them ever imprint? Are they just going to wait for someone who may never show up? If not being imprinted does not bother them, then it shouldn't bother the rest of us."

"Actually, Seth," started Leah apologetically. "I guess we forgot to tell you. Embry and I _have_ imprinted. We've imprinted on each other." Jacob and Quil immediately stopped shivering and the mood got a little less tense. Seth looked from his sister to Embry, hurt filled his expression.

"I've been covering for you guys for two weeks, and you've been imprinted all that time," he said in a soft voice.

"No, Seth. No!" Leah didn't like that her brother thought she distrusted him. "It isn't like that. We only imprinted two nights ago! We just didn't have time to tell you." Seth seemed to have accepted her explanation since the hurt left is features. But before she could bask in the relief at settling that misunderstanding, she was faced with more questions from the rest of her family.

"Wait. Did you say _two weeks_?" asked Rose in disbelief. Looking around the table, Leah saw that they all felt betrayed.

"How did you hide it for so long? Why?" Bella asked.

"Well, keeping our relationship a secret wasn't that hard," Embry answered. "We _did_ have the Volturi coming for a _lovely_ visit. And Seth helped a lot by covering for us; hence being Best Man."

"Everyone was so preoccupied with their own worries that no one noticed us…or our thoughts," continued Leah.

"And considering your reaction a while ago when you didn't know Leah and I have imprinted, do you still wonder why we hid it?"

"I know you care about me and want to protect me, especially from reliving the heartache I went through with Sam. If you had found out that Embry and I were together before we imprinted, you would have talked me out of being with him. There would have been so much pressure or expectation. And I didn't want that, especially when surviving the Volturi didn't seem possible. If I only had a few weeks with Embry, I wanted them to be perfect, even if we had to hide it."

"What changed?" Jasper suddenly inquired. By this point, the mood had returned to normal. "If you were together for two weeks unimprinted, what happened two nights ago that caused you to imprint?"

Leah opened her mouth to answer; but when her brain processed the words she was about to say, she quickly snapped it shut and looked down to hide her blushing face. Embry was in a similar state.

"Perhaps, we don't want to know," said Alice knowingly. Suppressed giggles and chuckles erupted around the table; except from Emmett, who laughed right out loud, and Nessie, who was quietly observing the others from her mother's lap.

"Oh, grow up people," snapped Leah. "Nessie is acting more mature than you."

"And it wasn't _that_," said Embry, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Two nights ago wasn't the first time we've—

"I marked him, okay," admitted Leah grudgingly, preventing Embry from finishing his sentence.

"Marked?" asked Emmett with an impish smile. Leah rolled her eyes at him. She could tell that he was enjoying her displeasure tremendously. Then she felt movement beside her—Embry pulled the neck of his shirt to the side showing them her mark on his shoulder.

"I bit him," Leah further admitted. She ignored Emmett's boisterous laughter and pulled the neck of her shirt as well, showing off Embry's mark on her shoulder. "And he bit me. We didn't know that would cause us to imprint."

"I _love_ you two!" Emmett cried out in between his laughter. And Leah's embarrassment was being replaced with annoyance.

"Emmett, I think you better cool it," advised Edward.

"Are you kidding me, Ed? This is _fantastic_. I was so disappointed when I lost that bet with Bella and can't say anything about you two. But this is even _better_." Leah's annoyance was being replaced with anger and her body started to shiver. Esme noticed first and pointed it out to Carlisle.

"Emmett, son, I think you should stop," he warned, his voice laced with concern. But Emmett ignored him.

"Rose, babe," the strongest Cullen called out. "I guess we aren't the only kinky ones in the family anymore. _Biting!_ And we're supposed to be the vampires." Leah was having trouble calming herself and stopping the shivers.

"Emmett," said Quil warningly. "I think you should listen to Carlisle." But Emmett ignored him as well, too focused on his jokes and innuendoes.

"And they could do the actual _doggie style_!"

And Leah lost it. But in an amazing feat of control, she did not phase. Instead, she searched for something to throw at Emmett. Finding none, she reached down and grabbed her shoes. She threw one Puma after the other with so much force that they were barely even a blur as they made their way towards Emmett's head. Luckily for him, Edward was fast enough to tackle him out of the way. Both shoes broke completely through the dinning room wall, flew across the adjoining room, broke through the far wall, and landed somewhere in the woods. Silence engulfed the room as everyone stared at the six-foot (1.8m) diameter hole Leah had created in the adjoining wall and the outer wall.

"_You_ are going to fix that," said Leah curtly to Emmett. "After you buy me a new pair of shoes."

* * *

The family was quick to congratulate Leah and Embry after the outburst. And with the news of their engagement and imprinting, Alice insisted they have an impromptu celebration. Everyone agreed. Even Bella, who usually hated parties, was excited and even volunteered to call Charlie and ask him to come over with Sue. By the time they arrived that evening, the food was ready and the damages were repaired. (And Leah was sporting a new pair of Gucci sneakers.)

Leah was relieved that telling her mother and Charlie was a lot less chaotic (and less destructive) than telling the rest of her family. When she told them she and Embry were getting married, Charlie was the first congratulate them. Sue, on the other hand, plastered on a smile for Charlie's sake, but Leah could read the worry in her eye. Quickly, so Charlie wouldn't notice anything amiss, Leah gave her mom a hug and whispered, "We imprinted on each other," in her ear. Sue was much more enthusiastic after that, though Leah could still sense her confusion. Later, when Emmett had successfully distracted Charlie (which was simple enough since he only had to turn the flat screen on to ESPN), Leah took her mother into the kitchen and explained about the imprinting. She was incredibly mature about it and didn't even blush when her mother asked if she and Embry had already slept together.

"One last thing, Mom," said Leah before her mother returned to Charlie's side. "Hang on." Then, in a voice too low for Charlie to hear from the next room but loud enough for the others to hear from wherever they were in the house, she called for her pack. Within half-a-minute, Embry, Seth, Jacob, and Quil were in the kitchen.

"What's up, Lee," said Seth when they were all there.

"I just thought you guys should be here since this _is _pack business," Leah replied. Then she turned to her mother, and in an official tone said, "Council-woman Clearwater, I request an audience with the Tribal Council and my La Push wolf brothers, with the permission of my Alpha Jacob Black, of course." Jacob rolled his eyes, causing Leah to break her façade and let out a giggle.

"Funny, Lee," he said.

"What?" she said with a huge smile on her face. "I thought it would fun sounding all serious like Sam." Leah laughed some more. But she quickly stopped when she saw her mother looking at her with tears building up in her eyes. "What's wrong, Mom?" she asked in concern.

"Nothing," she said, letting the tears fall. "I'm just so happy that you're happy." She walked closer to Leah and held her hand with one of hers. Then she took one of Embry's hands into her free one. She looked him in the eye. "Thank you for making my daughter happy, Embry. If Harry were here, I know he'd be grateful, too."

Embry smiled and bent down to give Sue a hug. "It's my pleasure, Sue. She makes me happy, too," he whispered into her ear. Then he released her to give Leah a turn.

"So when will the Council be free to see us, Mom?" asked Leah, getting back to business. "I have to let them know of a few corrections that Emily has to make in that notebook of hers." Sue smiled again. Leah supposed it was because she could now say Sam's and Emily's names without venom in her voice.

"Let's all meet in the usually place at the clifftop in…is two days from now all right?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Leah answered after getting a quick nod from Jacob. "And we'll bring our own food. I'm sick of the usual hot dogs that Sam and Emily always buy." The other four grunted in agreement.

_TBC_

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A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed and put my story on their favorites and alerts. Sorry for the delay. I started up another story in a different category, so I'm trying to balance out my time in writing my two stories. It's harder than I thought it would be.


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